Such blade devices are described, for example, in DE OS Nos. 2 611 720 or 2 660 077. They allow entirely new cutting qualities and work possibilities to be achieved in medical practice as well as in everyday use, instead of the surgical knife, the bone saw and the cautery used so far. Good cutting qualities are attained without the absolutely steady hand of those who are less talented so that the pressure of work experienced by real experts in their field can be reduced. If the cutting elements are saws, cutting widths of 1 mm are achieved, for example in bone surgery. This results in cut bones being shortened to a lesser extent, cut edges becoming smoother and healing being accelerated. This type of blade device also prevents accidents during operations, such as the intestinal explosion described in the Danish "Weekly publication for doctors" in July 1978, which resulted in death.
However, such blade devices can also be advantageously used in entirely different fields, for example in micro-surgery, grafting of plants, cutting of cakes, amateur handiwork and so on.
A problem of the known devices consists in the fact that the cutter bar of the blade device has several layers. Two external cheeks are necessary, and between the external cheeks there are provided small rotatable guide wheels or stationary guide surfaces. This sandwich construction is expensive in view of the very small dimensions. The riveting-together thereof tends to warp the cutter bar. The cutter bar has on its outer circumference a groove in which the chain links run in a more or less covered manner, and it is possible for bits to settle therein, which may be a hindrance during the running of the chain itself and also during the sterilisation thereof.